Want to Change the World? No Age Limit Required

Local organization is inspiring the next generation of young filmmakers. The violence, the corruption, the human rights abuses in our own backyard -- it’s all about to stop. And who’s going to stop it? Kids, of course.

(PRWEB) October 14, 2005 -- The violence, the corruption, the human rights abuses in our own backyard—it’s all about to stop. And who’s going to stop it? Kids, of course.

At least that’s the claim of Youth for Human Rights International (YHRI), a Los Angeles-based non-profit organization with a history of empowering youth in the cause of social betterment. It’s about to launch a Youth Human Rights Film Festival right in the heart of Hollywood. On October 2nd, the Los Angeles Film School at 6363 W. Sunset Boulevard, is showcasing these youth-made films from around the world. This event is co-organized by the Human Rights Department of the Church of Scientology International.

Several celebrity guests—including Joey Travolta and Grounded for Life’s Lynsey Bartilson—will certainly be an audience that any filmmaker would be proud to entertain. Even if they’re 10 years old.

The festival will highlight films from Uganda, Switzerland, Turkey, Canada, South Africa, and many others, dealing with a wide spectrum of human rights issues from around the world. The typical age of these human rights crusaders? Between 9 and 20 years old.

The inspiration for this festival came in form of a groundbreaking phenomenon, "United," a human rights music video that has swept dozens of film festivals worldwide, winning top awards and stunning audiences with its powerful human rights message. The film is now allegedly a major contender for the 2006 Academy Award nomination ballot.

And get this: the director was only 19 years old.

Taron Lexton, the aforementioned award-winning director, is a graduate of the Los Angeles Film School, and a lifelong human rights crusader. He is also the son of Mary Shuttleworth, who heads the Youth for Human Rights movement. "United" was truly a joint project between mother and son, and now serves as the centerpiece for YHRI’s global human rights education campaign. In a few short months, it has created such a stir that King Osamarimba of Ghana proclaimed, “'United' is easily one of the most important human rights films of the last decade.”

Lexton and Shuttleworth now hope to utilize that success to create an entirely new phenomenon: the YHRI UNITED Film Festival.

Los Angeles Film School will host the film festival on October 2nd, which will include a daylong workshop starting at 4pm and screenings. Scores of filmmakers and youth leaders from around the world will join local kids at this history-making event.

Following the workshop there will be a dinner, and at 7pm the screening of selected short films and Awards Ceremony for the winning entries.

“I’m thrilled,” says Shuttleworth. “A true improvement in the global human rights scene can sometimes seem impossible. But if it can be done at all, it will start with these children.”

Youth for Human Rights International is a nonprofit corporation whose purpose is to educate youth in human rights so they become valuable advocates for tolerance and peace.

Contact Information:
Leslie Brown
TXL Films
(323) 663-3983

# # #